National Park Quarters Series begins in April 2010

Next month, the United States Mint will issue the first of 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites as part of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program.

From now until 2021, the U.S. Mint will issue five new designs each year that depict national points of interest on the reverse (tails side) of the America the Beautiful Quarters to honor noteworthy sites across the country. The program takes a page out of the widely lauded state quarter program that wrapped up last year. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner selected the list of sites to be honored after consulting with Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar and the governor or chief executive of each state or territory in accordance with authorizing legislation and the site selection process.

The United States Mint will also mint and issue unique silver bullion quarter-dollar coins that are exact duplicates of each of the America the Beautiful Quarters. The bullion coins will be made of .999 fine silver, have a diameter of three inches and weigh five ounces. The fineness and weight will be edge-incused on the bullion coins. The United States Mint will issue these coins under the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program. Each silver bullion coin will be available for sale during the year in which its corresponding circulating quarter-dollar coin is issued.

The following table of national sites and national parks, announced by the United States Mint on Wednesday, Sept. 9, indicates the year each will be commemorated and exact quarter launch dates, as they become available. Currently, specific dates are yet To Be Announced (TBA).